antivirus update and Nero conflict?

My question is simple, but I must describe the circumstance.

I updated the Zone Alarm antivirus and spyware database on Thursday, July 8. That is the only thing I did on my computer from outside. No other updates, no upgrades, no installations. (There were no updates for my XP this week.)

Prior to the update on July 8, I had often used Nero to Make Data DVDs. For a full disk, it takes 20 minutes; not on the internet and nothing else running. After July 8, these same routine Make Data DVDs have taken 2 hour 33 minutes or more; no internet and nothing else running.

The reason I am writing to this forum is that updating the Zone Alarm database is the only thing that I did. It is easy for me to wonder if something in the database is causing this problem. How do I solve it?

Thank you for your help. I will respond promptly to request for further information.

Re: antivirus update and Nero conflict?

If yes, your ZA may be corrupted and you may need to reset it. click the link below to See here how to do it:

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ZA has incorparated a new way to Reset DataBase files so users don't need to go into Safe mode.

To repair this problem, please follow the steps below. Please note that this will remove your program permission settings (so you may want to make note of them), but re-establishing them is a simple process.

1.) Hold down the Ctrl and Shift keys together 2.) Right click on the ZA icon near your clock in the system tray lower right corner3.) Choose 'Reset' from the box that comes up4.) Choose Yes on the Reset Settings dialog box5.) When prompted, choose OK to restart your system 6.) Follow the on screen configuration prompts after reboot

Did you updated any software in your computer or installed new software recently?

The new update or the new software may conflict with ZA and cause this issue.

Re: antivirus update and Nero conflict?

Thank you George V and Fax. I am serious about trying to solve this problem. I think I can respond well enough to both together.

George V asked two questions:
1) Did you experienced PC hangs, crashes or cold shutdown (improper shutdown) recently?
No.
2) Did you updated any software in your computer or installed new software recently?
No.

Doing the ZA reset seemed to be a potential solution if one of the answers was Yes. Do I conclude correctly?

Fax commented that he would exclude any relationship between ZA and Nero. So would I, but then what is it? He also asked a question:
- May be a scanning was going on in the background? No.

But let me say more on background. XP does some things without telling me about them. However, as for background programs, I have everything set so that it runs only if I tell it to. No schedulers or any such running. So when I said nothing else was running, then nothing else was running.

Exceptions? Screensaver works in the default manner.
And, ZA firewall and ON Access antivirus is always on. But, I had ZA fully operational long before I got Nero. The change in Nero was just last week.

Re: antivirus update and Nero conflict?

Thank you to those who responded to my request for help. You and I were both thinking that there could be no adverse connection between Nero and Zone Alarm antivirus. However, I have come up with some new information. I want to present that information, and revise my question. Please read through this additional stuff.

1. In my first message, I talked about making DVD data disks, because that is where I first discovered the problem, and it was easy to describe. Since then I have found that the problem occurs any time a program writes to, or verifies, the CD/DVD drive. Writing or verifying elsewhere is no problem.

2. This is a business computer and I deal mostly with data disks. However, occasionally I have some audio or video to play. When I played some audio, I discovered that the sound is distorted. These same audio disks play fine elsewhere; just here is the sound distorted.

3. Following my observations in 1 and 2 above, I wondered if the drive was defective. I removed the old drive and installed a new one. For about five hours, I had fast writes to the drive, and no sound distortions. Gave me a chance to catch up on disks that I had to burn. I was already planning my note to you telling what solved the problem.

4. But wait. That evening, between 7:25 pm and 7:36 pm, the problem returned. I completed a normal fast backup at 7:25. At 7:36 I started what turned out to be a very slow erase. After the slow erase, I tested the audio disks and found distortions had returned. These problems continue to this moment.

That confuses me. The problems were in fact not there for five hours, and it was easy to see that was because of the new drive. Then the the problems returned. I did nothing unusual after installing the new drive. No other installations or updates or upgrades. No other programs running, no internet.

My revised question: How could that happen, that the problem goes away, then returns. Can viruses infect CD drives? Maybe it just took five hours for the virus to find its way to the new drive. ??? ZoneAlarm antivirus and antispyware is always active, and I do full scans every week. It has not found anything.